SAN FRANCISCO, 25 January 2022 – The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco together with the Philippine Trade & Investment Center – Silicon Valley (PTIC-SV), and Dynamico Space (Dynamico) organized two virtual pitching and networking events on 13 and 20 January 2022 for the winners and finalists of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 6 Slingshot 2021. DTI’s Slingshot features notable Philippine startups and startup enablers to foster the growth of startups, and enable new breeds of business.
“Our economic team here at the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, the Philippine Trade and Investment Silicon Valley and Dynamico, are ready to support Philippine startups by providing mentoring and networking opportunities. We hope for their success that would in turn contribute to national development,” said Philippine Consul General to San Francisco Neil Frank R. Ferrer.
Dynamico was represented by Mr. JR Calanoc, CEO and co-founder of Dynamico Space. Ms. Nancy Hwang, Dynamico head of mentorship, and mentors Ms. Jessica Tsoong, investor and advisor at Relay Ventures, and founder of WiFi Slam, and Mr. Matthew Brightman, advisor, entrepreneur, and senior product manager at Google, were on hand to listen to the presentations of the DTI Region 6 startups.
Nine Western Visayas startups engaged in business verticals such as tire recycling, water treatment, urban farming, online education platform for students with limited access to the internet, and sustainable sneakers, among others, participated in the mentoring program.
“On behalf of DTI – Region 6, we would like to thank the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, the Philippine Trade & Investment Center Silicon Valley, and the Dynamico Space mentors, for the successful Pitch Nights for Online Slingshot Region 6 Startups. This new collaboration broadens our startups’ understanding of the U.S. market and accelerates the development of our startups’ skills to make them globally competitive,” said DTI Regional Director Rebecca Rascon.
The mentoring program is part of the implementation of a public-private partnership between the Consulate and PTIC-SV, and Dynamico. In June 2021, the Consulate signed with the private company the “Philippines-Silicon Valley Startup Program with Dynamico Memorandum of Understanding.”
The PPP setup with Dynamico aims to assist Philippine startups to gain exposure to the U.S. and expand their networks. It also facilitates the expansion of U.S. startups and companies in Southeast Asia and the Philippines, which is a leading global provider of IT and Business Process Management services, and has a developing startup ecosystem.
Source: Republic of Philippines Department Of Foreign Affairs